General lending criteria
In this section we cover:
Age
| Minimum age | Maximum age | |
|---|---|---|
| Experienced Landlord applications at 65% LTV or less | 21 | No maximum age |
| Experienced Landlord applications over 65% LTV | 70 at application | |
| First Time Landlord applications |
For maximum age on joint applications:
- We’ll use the age of the eldest applicant.
- There’s no maximum age for a First Time Landlord, when applying with an Experienced Landlord at 65% LTV or less.
Loan Purpose
- Purchase or remortgage in England, Wales and mainland Scotland
- Remortgages acceptable after the property has been owned for a minimum of six months
- Raising capital for non-business purposes including for deposit/purchase of a Buy to Let property, will be considered
- Raising capital for non-structural home improvements will be considered
- Remortgage with no capital raising may require proof of the current mortgage balance e.g. the last mortgage or redemption statement
Capital repayment allowance
- Your client can make lump sum or regular overpayments of up to 10% of the initial mortgage balance in each 12 month period from the anniversary of completion, without having to pay any early repayment charges. This isn't available if the whole loan is being repaid or security released
- Assets held by the customer for repayment of the mortgage are not acceptable where it is denominated in a currency other than pounds sterling (GBP).
Tenancy agreements
- Accepted in the form of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement (Short Assured Tenancy and Private Residential Tenancy (PRT) in Scotland) for a period of up to thirty six months*, all tenancy agreements are subject to assessment by the conveyancer acting on behalf of the client to ensure adherence with UK Finance guidelines. (*We will accept tenancies in a PRT form in Scotland and the 36-month period will not apply to those tenancies).
- One tenancy agreement accepted per property, except for HMOs where multiple tenancy agreements are accepted
- Purchase applications where existing tenants will remain in the property are accepted, subject to a new tenancy agreement being signed on completion or the conveyancer confirms the benefit of the tenancy agreement is transferrable to the borrower as a successor in title to the original landlord
- Evidence of rental payments and a copy of the tenancy agreement may be requested to support non-standard tenancies
- Non-Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement applications (Local authority/Housing Association Tenancy, Corporate Tenancies and private individuals where annual rent exceeds £100k) also considered up to thirty six months
- Corporate lets are considered for use by the company’s employees where the company employs more than 1,000 staff and is based in the UK
- Tenancy agreements paid in cash are generally acceptable if supported by evidence of rental payments
- Premium lease agreements (tenancies where a proportion of the rent is paid upfront) considered subject to the following LTV limits. Please contact us pre-application.
| Payment Frequency | Maximum LTV |
|---|---|
| Up to 3 months in advance | 80% |
| 3-6 months in advance | 65% |
| 6-12 months in advance | 50% |
Change of security address
For changes to the security address during the application process, a new application will need to be submitted. Products and criteria at time of re-submission will apply.
Portability
Accepted. Applies when applicant simultaneously completes a mortgage for the same or greater amount keeping the same interest rate for that portion of the new mortgage without incurring an early repayment charge. Subject to meeting the company's lending criteria at the time of application.
Private sales
Will be considered subject to evidence of deposit and confirmation of:
- How the applicant sourced the property
- Any relationship between the applicant and the vendor
- Whether the property is being purchased at full market value. (Please let us know if there are any incentives).
We won't accept applications where the vendor will continue to reside in the property after completion.
Please note, applications where the applicant is related to the vendor are not accepted.
Sale and rent back
It is not permitted for the vendor to remain as a tenant in the property or to retain an interest in the property.
Property Investment Clubs / Companies
Applications to purchase properties sourced via Property Investment Clubs/Companies are not accepted. These are typically businesses which offer to buy a property quickly from a seller, and then sells it on to another buyer.
Property
All Buy to Let properties must be used for residential purposes only and be in a lettable condition, to be determined by the valuer.
Properties not owned in personal name(s)
- Applicants purchasing/transferring a property not owned in personal name(s) are accepted providing they fall within one of the following categories:
- Local Authority/Housing Association owned properties
- Properties where the owner is a lender listed in the UK Finance handbook
Properties owned by limited companies
- Properties owned by limited companies where the purchase is an open market transaction and the applicant has no links to the vendor
- No additional borrowing or increase in LTV will be permitted for existing The Mortgage Works Limited Company accounts
Second charge
New applications with existing second charges are not accepted (unless repaid as part of the transaction). Consent to second charges post-completion considered on a case by case basis. This will be subject to criteria at the time of application, including rental cover assessment and LTV limits (currently 50% LTV before adding second charge).
Maximum loan per property
| Product/Customer type | LTV | Maximum loan |
|---|---|---|
| Buy to Let | 50% | £1,500,000 |
| 70% | £1,000,000 | |
| 75% | £750,000 | |
| 80% | £350,000 | |
| First Time Landlords | 50% | £750,000 |
| 70% | £500,000 | |
| 80% | £350,000 | |
| Let to Buy | 70% | £500,000 |
| 80% | £350,000 | |
| Houses in Multiple Occupation | 65% | £750,000 |
| 75% | £500,000 |
Maximum overall exposure per application
| Total BTL borrowing with Nationwide Group (including new loan) | Max LTV on new property |
|---|---|
| Up to £500,000 | 80% |
| £500,001 - £750,000 | 75% |
| £750,001 - £1,000,000 | 70% |
| £1,000,001 - £1,500,000 | 65% |
| £1,500,001 - £5,000,000 | 60% |
Applicant details
Applies to all products, unless otherwise stated
Applicants
- Up to two applicants accepted per application
- First Time Buyers considered when accompanied by an existing property owner (First Time or experienced landlord)
- Buy to Let Guarantors not considered
- The mortgage introducer cannot also be the applicant
- Vendor cannot be a relative of the applicant
- Regulated Buy to Lets (where the property will be occupied by the borrower or a member of the borrower's immediate family, now or in the future) are not accepted
- We won't be able to consider applicants who are bankrupt, have been declared bankrupt in the last four years or had a property repossessed in the last six years.
Identification requirements for new customers
To find out what ID proofs we need to see for all new mortgage customers, see our list of acceptable proofs of name and address.
Applicant definitions and acceptable combinations
- First Time Buyer (FTB): An applicant who has not owned and occupied their own home for the last six months and has not owned and let a Buy to Let property for the last six months.
- First Time Landlord (FTL): An applicant who has owned and occupied their own home for at least the last six months, but has not owned and let a Buy to Let property for the last six months.
- Experienced Landlord: An applicant who has owned and let a Buy to Let property for at least the last six months (they may or may not own and occupy their own home).
- Consumer Buy to Let (CBTL): An applicant with no other let properties wishing to obtain a mortgage on a property that has either been inherited or has previously been occupied by the borrower or related person at any time.
| Applicant definitions | Buy to let Property | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 months and over | Up to 6 months | ||
| Residential Property | 6 months and over | Experienced Landlord | First Time Landlord (FTL) |
| Up to 6 months | Experienced Landlord | First Time Buyer (FTB) | |
| Applicant combinations accepted | Applicant 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Time Buyer | First Time Landlord | Experienced | ||
| Applicant 2 | First Time Buyer | No | Yes | Yes |
| First Time Landlord | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Experienced | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| N/A | No | Yes | Yes | |
Residency
- UK residents only.
- Applicants with a previous address abroad in the last three years are not accepted.
- Foreign nationals must:
- be a resident in the UK for at least three years prior to application
- have a UK bank account
- have permanent right to reside. Exceptions can be considered for applicants without permanent rights to reside, subject to full underwrite
- LTV restrictions may apply.
- Applicants who work or live outside of the UK for all of the year at the time of application are not acceptable. However, exceptions can be made for applicants who work or live outside of the UK for part of the year, subject to underwriting assessment. The maximum loan to value may be restricted to 70%.
To find out what ID proofs we need to see for all new mortgage customers, see our list of acceptable proofs of name and address.